IT was good night for Filipino Diosdado Gabi in the eighth round.
After putting up a splendid stand for seven rounds, Gabi absorbed a big left to the jaw which was all Vic Darchinyan needed to retain his International Boxing Federation flyweight title by technical knockout Friday in the eighth round of their 12-round fight at the Chumash Resort Casino in Sta. Ynez, California.
The end for the third-ranked challenger from Davao City came at the 2:42 mark of the eighth after the Armenian-born Australian stepped up his attack and sent the Filipino down with a big left.
Gabi, who has never been knocked out going into the fight, managed to get up at the count of eight, but referee David Mendoza stopped the action, later saying that Gabi was “glassy-eyed and his equilibrium was off.”
The power-hitting Darchinyan, who also retained his lightly regarded International Boxing Organization title, raised his unbeaten record to 25 wins, 20 of them inside the distance.
But he was all praises for Gabi, who took his fourth loss in 30 fights.
“I could not believe Gabi took so many punches,” Darchinyan was quoted as saying. “I was impressed. He is a really good fighter with an impressive jab.”
“I saw he was tough after the first few rounds so I started to move around more and wait for openings. I gained more power with each round and felt stronger as the fight progressed,” the champion added.
Gabi, who was also trained by American Freddie Roach, acquitted himself well in this fight between southpaws, using his jab and technical skills to befuddle and at times put Darchinyan in dire straits.
Even Showtime executives paid tribute to Gabi’s game performance.
Before the fatal eighth, Darchinyan was only ahead by one point based on the scorecards of most boxing experts, who gave Gabi the first, third and sixth rounds.
The loss was a letdown for RP boxing fans, who were looking forward to Gabi pulling off another big win following the recent successes of Manny Pacquiao and Brian Viloria.
Pacquiao avenged his loss to Erik Morales last January while Viloria retained his World Boxing Council light flyweight title last month. Both were trained by Roach.
